A tiny glitch in an app used for navigation by American Airlines (AA) pilots caused a big problem Tuesday, temporarily grounding a number of flights until the iPads on which the app is used could be updated. The problem began Tuesday afternoon, delaying flights until an update could be downloaded to fix the glitch. (It didn't affect all of AA's flights, and was instead related to an issue with a specific chart.) While media reports seemed to conclude that the issue had been taken care by Tuesday night, I found myself on a delayed flight yet this morning, sitting onboard the aircraft while the pilots used the airport’s Wi-Fi connection to ensure the cockpit’s iPads were up to date and glitch-free.

This marks the first failure of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) technology on a large scale since AA began the march to replace paper charts with iPads in 2011, and the airline became fully paperless—ditching bulky books of charts that can weigh up to 40 pounds—in 2013. (AA estimates that EFBs contribute up $1.2 million in fuel savings every year.) And it's not the only carrier implementing this system: United, Delta, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and a range of international airlines have added tablets for their pilots in recent years.

To AA's credit, crew members were transparent with passengers about the issue, and the delays were not unbearable, with the average EFB-related delay lasting one or two hours due to the time required to re-download the necessary app. Flight attendants on my delayed flight explained how pilots use EFBs and what they specifically needed to use (Jeppesen approach plates, charts made by Boeing’s Jeppesen aeronautical navigation outfit, which display the information essential for flight approaches to every airport). Some pilots Tuesday evening simply printed out the maps needed—how's that for innovative technology?